Press Statement – International Women’s Conference on Women and the Khilafah

Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir Organise Historic International Women’s Conference, “The Khilafah: A Shining Model of Women’s Rights and Political Role”

Aljazeera’s report of the conference

The women of Hizb ut-Tahrir have organised this historic International Women’s Conference in Tunisia, to present the Khilafah system based upon Islamic laws alone as a model of governance that can truly secure the dignity and rights of women in the Muslim world. From a place that was once a bastion for secularism in the region, we will highlight that it is the Islamic system that can liberate women from oppression and injustice. Today, in this unprecedented event where we have gathered female opinion-makers from across the world, we aim to detail a clear vision of what the Khilafah would mean to the status and rights of women and how it offers practical and sound solutions to the multitude of political, economic, educational, and social problems that women face across the region. This is a system that will bring real change in improving the lives of women.

For too long, Western governments and institutions have promoted a lie that Islamic governance oppresses women, citing the injustices meted out against women by dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia and Iran that pursue a charade of implementing Shariah while in reality ruling according to the whims of Kings and dictators. It is a lie propagated to strengthen the Western colonial foothold in the Muslim lands and prevent the emergence of an independent Khilafah state that would threaten their strategic interests across the region. Today, the women of Hizb ut-Tahrir seek to shatter this colonial myth, highlighting the ever-growing call for the Khilafah amongst Muslim women globally and to demonstrate that rather than Islamic rule, it has been systems of governance based upon man-made laws that have been their source of subjugation and suffering. We say that these worn-out lies deserve the same fate as dictators – to be discarded into the dustbin of history.

Furthermore, we state unequivocally that the dignity and rights of women can never be secured through adopting the tried, tested and failed capitalist, secular, liberal democratic system. This conference is taking place in the week of the 101^st International Women’s Day. However, the epidemic levels of rape, violence, sexual harassment and discrimination faced by women in the West and the East under secular democracy should give serious cause for reflection as to what this political system has actually achieved for women over the 100 years of women’s struggle. In addition, the Muslim women of Tunisia have tasted at first hand the authoritarian nature of secular rule that hounded them out of schools, universities, and employment simply for wearing the Islamic dress. One wonders what lessons in women’s rights the Muslim world can ever learn from the secular  democratic system? How can such a system ever herald a brighter future for the women of the Muslim world?

We live at a time where there is a momentous opportunity to bring real change to the women of the Muslim world. However, this requires those of influence within the region, including the media to create an honest debate about all forms of governance; to not replicate the lies of foreign governments that are aimed at nothing but continuing the cultural colonization of our Muslim lands; to evaluate accurately the fruits of the secular democratic system and its impact upon the lives of women; and to give genuine consideration to a model of governance that reflects the deep rooted Islamic beliefs of the region – the Khilafah.

For too long, many have spoken on behalf of the women of the region, sidelining the views of the masses, presenting an outdated narrative that Muslim women view Islam as their oppressor, that they reject Islamic governance, and that they seek liberation through the secular liberal democratic system. Now as women of Hizb ut-Tahrir we say no more. These unsubstantiated claims are no longer acceptable. It is in Islam that we see our salvation from oppression and it is the Khilafah that we embrace as our guardian. We call all women who believe in true liberation to join the work of Hizb ut-Tahrir in establishing this noble system in our lands that will herald a new dawn of justice and dignity for the daughters of this Ummah. Allah(swt) says,

“O you who believe, answer the Call of Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.”

[TMQ Al-Anfal 8:24]

Tunisia

10th March 2012

17 Rabia II 1433